You might think that the old guy keeping a pile of yellowed newspapers in his attic belongs on Hoarders, but, that might be where you’re wrong. In fact, old issues of newspapers can prove invaluable for both genealogists and local historians. These outdated publications provide a microscopic view of local news that goes far beyond that found in the digital sphere. Additionally, newspapers give you a true taste of the perspectives, and cultures, held decades or even centuries ago. Sometimes, you just can’t beat an original For anyone looking for a perspective on the sensationalist, the Scottish Daily Express is a good place to start.

The History of the Scottish Daily Express

The Scottish Daily Express shares nearly all of its history with its parent paper, the Daily Express. Both papers found their starts with one Sir Arthur Pearson in 1900. For thirteen years, before losing his battle with glaucoma and selling his paper to Lord Beaverbrook, Pearson served as a valuable member of the staff. After changing ownership, Beaverbrook moved its printing to Manchester in 1927 and, under his leadership, the paper set record sales numbers throughout the 1930s. By 1948, Beaverbrook felt solid enough in his standings that he informed the House of Commons that all of his papers existed “purely for the purpose of making propaganda”. At the time of his death in 1964, the paper’s readership dropped drastically. The emergence of new competition, including The Sun, certainly didn’t help matters.

What happened next was a series of sales and acquisitions. In roughly forty years, the Scottish Daily Express changed ownership no less than three times. In 2000, it ended up in the hands of the ever-controversial Richard Desmond. A series of record-breaking libel cases followed, but, regardless of its misfortune in the courtroom, the Express began to stabilize. Currently, the Daily Express, and by extension its Scottish version, has roughly a third of the subscriptions of rival paper, the Daily Mail.